The Twelve Myths of Fitness – Day 8: Cleanses are good for you

The cleanse/juicing/toxin myth is a topic that fuels some strong opinions and emotions. Why this topic fuels such passion (and bad research and advice) has surprised me over the years. It certainly is a topic many talk shows (hello, Dr. Oz) spend lots of time promoting. And while “rebooting” your nutrition for a day or a week usually isn’t a bad thing, there’s little evidence there’s any good to come from extreme measures.

We’ve all been there – we get to a breaking point where nutrition has spiraled out of control. It can be as simple as realizing you’ve consumed french fries every day for the last week or month, or have been seriously skimping on your fruit and veggie consumption. Or maybe you have gotten into a habit of skipping breakfast but feasting on the office baked goods midmorning, and you want to break that cycle. Often we want to do something epic, something to shake things up and to make the change seem “real.” Perhaps that’s why extreme measures like cleanses are so popular.

To understand the whole theory behind cleanses, you need to understand toxins. Most cleanses are advertised and credited with flushing our bodies of toxins. Toxins sound bad, right? Like, ewe. So without doing any research, you’d probably be on board and eager to “cleanse” yourself. But here’s the thing, if you spend 5 minutes actually reading something medically and scientifically backed up, you’ll quickly understand why the whole cleanse/toxin thing is complete BS and simply a great way for the health industry to make a fortune. The toxins that naturally exist in our bodies are processed by our liver and colon. And they do a pretty awesome job. In fact, unless you have an extreme medical condition, or were somehow poisoned, our bodies are equipped to handle and process everything in an extremely effective manner. So the whole idea of fasting or a cleanse of some sort is silly. Still wanting to read more on toxins? Here’s a good read.

Now if you are still interesting in juicing or fasting, and understand that there’s no guaranteed benefits, keep in mind that these extreme measures are not sustainable. And while you will drop weight (you’ll lose the weight of food in your stomach, for one thing), you may also end up losing muscle mass and no fat. So the number on the scale will go down, but is that the end game? Here’s an interesting view on juicing, fasting and some recent research.

So if you now understand toxins, fasting and cleanses, and want to overhaul your habits or nutritional choices, try to eliminate processed foods for a week. You’ll reset your relationship with food, and be very aware of the choices you are making. You will also never risk being deficient in your macro’s – so your blood sugar and energy levels won’t be all over the place, and you shouldn’t feel starved.

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